A company in the United States has created a small section of human liver which was alive, able to filter toxins and retain nutrients for 40 days.

The slice of liver was created entirely outside any human body, and was seemingly able to operate just like a normal liver for several times longer than any previous attempt. It even showed a normal reaction to acetaminophen and other drugs.

The catalogue of replacement body parts available in the not-too-distant future continues to grow, with San Diego-based start-up Organovo announcing the breakthrough that could soon yield off-the-shelf organs, limbs and other human components.

The liver is less complex than many other vital components, making it the perfect candidate for attempts to ‘bioprint’ an entire organ.

Even without reproducing the entire liver, the technology to produce small, functioning slices may still help create grafts and patches for some patients.

Bioprinted human parts are also a much more effective basis for medical research than the organs of different animals.

More information on the cell-by-cell printing of organs is available from Organovo.

The company has created the following video to describe the bioprinting technology;